An MP has called on Theresa May to back a full enquiry into the East of England Ambulance Service after a man froze to death after he was left outside overnight.

The incident, which happened in Lowestoft on December 27, saw a man found dead in “inhospitable weather conditions” 16 hours after an ambulance was first called to him.

It is, however, just one of over 40 cases reported to the BBC by an anonymous whistleblower from the EEAS, which also serves Hertfordshire and Essex, all of which concern patients who died or came to harm over Christmas or the New Year.

Another man, who waited 47 minutes for an ambulance, died after going into cardiac arrest in Hertfordshire, the BBC reports.

The news comes after the EEAS experienced its busiest Christmas ever, with an “unprecedented” number of calls made from Hertfordshire during the New Year celebrations.

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In December, the service was forced to declare a major internal incident as it struggled to cope during “extreme” conditions brought about by the snowy weather.

Speaking in parliament today, Peter Aldous, MP for Waveney in Lowestoft, told Theresa May that he had requested that the EEAS hold a full enquiry into the circumstances.

He said: “I have serious concerns as to how the matter was handled including why the case only came to light in the last few days.

“I would ask the PM to endorse the request that I’ve made to the EEAS and Suffolk Police to immediately instigate a full and independent enquiry to establish exactly what happened and then put in place measures to ensure that such a tragic event does not happen again.”

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In response, Theresa May recognised that there was cause for concern about the EEAST’s operations.

She said: “There have been concerns raised about the provision of services in the East of England Ambulance Trust including, obviously, this very, very worrying and tragic case.

“We take these cases very seriously — any claims that patient safety is being put at risk are taken seriously — and the Department of Health and Social Care has received assurances these reports are being investigated by the Trust as a serious incident in conjunction with its commissioners.”

Mark Prisk, MP for Hertford and Stortford, has also voiced his support for an investigation into the trust, saying waiting times were unacceptably long.

He said: "I have had to challenge the ambulance service when people have been waiting far too long.

“Sometimes it’s because they are being held at hospital A&E units, but sometimes it’s because of bad call handling.

“Neither is acceptable and so we need an investigation into what’s going wrong and what needs to change.”

In response, a spokeswoman for the EEAST said: “The trust has sought, and therefore welcomes, an independent inquiry to look at our performance against our winter plans."